Protest against Islamic State near the Turkish-Syria border

MOSCOW, December 11. /TASS/. Russian presidential chief of staff Sergey Ivanov said on Thursday the aggravation of the situation in the Middle East and North Africa was one of the results of certain Western countries’ policy.

“The short-sighted policy by certain Western countries led, diplomatically speaking, to a rapid surge in religious extremism in the Middle East and North Africa,” Ivanov said.

He expressed concern over the state of believers and religious minorities in the Middle East and North Africa. “We watch the complicated processes in the Middle East and North Africa where the ethno-confessional balance is destroyed,” he said at a session of the Council for Interaction with Religious Associations.